disappear

[ dis-uh-peer ]

verb (used without object)

1. to cease to be seen; vanish from sight.
2. to cease to exist or be known; pass away; end gradually:

   One by one the symptoms disappeared.

3. (of a person) to vanish under suspicious circumstances:

   The dictator's outspoken opponent disappeared that evening, shortly after midnight.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to disappear:

   The magician then disappeared the card.

2. to kidnap or arrest and then imprison or kill (a political opponent) without due process of law.

disappear

/ ˌdɪsəˈpɪə /

verb

1. intr to cease to be visible; vanish
2. intr to go away or become lost, esp secretly or without explanation
3. intr to cease to exist, have effect, or be known; become extinct or lost

   the pain has disappeared

4. tr (esp in South and Central America) to arrest secretly and presumably imprison or kill (a member of an opposing political group)

Derived Forms

• ˌdisapˈpearance, noun

Other Words From

• non·dis·ap·pear·ing adjective
• un·dis·ap·pear·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disappear¹

First recorded in 1520–30; dis- ¹ + appear

Synonym Study

Disappear, fade, vanish suggest that something passes from sight. Disappear is used of whatever suddenly or gradually goes out of sight: We watched him turn down a side street and then disappear. Fade suggests a (complete or partial) disappearance that proceeds gradually and often by means of a blending into something else: Colors in the sky at sunrise quickly fade. Vanish suggests complete, generally rapid, and often mysterious disappearance: A mirage can vanish as suddenly as it appears.

Example Sentences

It would also increase unemployment, since most undocumented immigrants generate excess demand for additional services that will disappear with them, because this is what happens when you shrink the population of people that you can sell things to.

From Slate

“This chat could disappear at any time,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Snapchat and Instagram Stories, for example, disappear after 24 hours.

From Slate

Messages can be difficult to retrieve or even set to disappear - whereas those sent via approved channels are fully retrievable, meaning they can be looked into if there is any suspected wrongdoing.

From BBC

These malign forces will not magically disappear if Harris or some other Democrat or even a responsible Republican and real “small c” conservative were to become president.

From Salon

Related Words

• abandon
• depart
• die
• die out
• dissipate
• dissolve
• escape
• evaporate
• expire
• fade
• flee
• fly
• go
• leave
• melt
• perish
• recede
• retire
• retreat
• sink